This is an independent, unofficial guide and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or maintained by the BlockTheSpot project maintainers. Official project on GitHub ↗
Once you start looking into Spotify ad blocking, three names come up together often enough to cause real confusion: BlockTheSpot, SpotX, and Spicetify. Only two of them actually do the same job. Here's how they differ, whether you can combine them, and what BlockTheSpot does and doesn't touch elsewhere in the app.
A quick history: why two projects exist
BlockTheSpot's current, actively maintained repository (the one linked throughout this site) is a fork of an earlier project by a different developer. That original project's own README now states it has been superseded by SpotX and points people there instead. In practice, though, the fork — the one commonly referred to as BlockTheSpot today — has continued to be independently maintained and has grown to over 12,000 GitHub stars and hundreds of forks, making it the more widely used of the two by a large margin. Both trace back to the same original idea; they've simply diverged since.
BlockTheSpot vs. SpotX: same goal, different approach
SpotX is a separate, independently maintained ad-blocking tool for Spotify, built around a proxy-based approach rather than a direct client patch. Where BlockTheSpot edits the Spotify desktop client's own files so ad code paths never execute, SpotX generally works by intercepting ad-related network requests before they reach the app — closer to how a network-level filter operates than a file patch.
In practice this means:
- BlockTheSpot requires no background process once patched — the change is baked into the client files themselves, so there's nothing running while you listen.
- SpotX typically needs its filtering mechanism active in the background to keep intercepting ad requests, since it isn't modifying the client permanently.
Neither approach unlocks Spotify Premium features, and neither requires your account password to do its job. The practical choice between them usually comes down to preference: a one-time patch with nothing running afterward (BlockTheSpot), versus a lighter-touch method that doesn't modify the client's files directly (SpotX). We can only speak in detail to how BlockTheSpot itself works and is verified — if you're evaluating SpotX specifically, review its own source and documentation with the same scrutiny before installing it.
Does BlockTheSpot work with Spicetify?
Yes — and it's worth being clear that Spicetify solves a completely different problem, so there's no real conflict between them. Spicetify is a customization framework: it lets you install themes, change the Spotify interface's appearance, and add community-built plugins for things like lyrics displays or interface tweaks. It doesn't block ads on its own.
BlockTheSpot (ad removal) and Spicetify (visual customization) touch different parts of the client and are commonly used together — many listeners run both, patching ads out with BlockTheSpot and then customizing the look of the ad-free client with Spicetify on top. The one practical note: because both tools modify local Spotify files, apply them in a deliberate order (we recommend patching with BlockTheSpot first, then layering Spicetify's customization afterward — see our full install guide for the base setup) and re-check both after a Spotify update, since an update can require both to be reapplied, not just one.
Is BlockTheSpot a browser extension?
No. This is a common assumption worth correcting directly: BlockTheSpot is not a Chrome extension, a Firefox add-on, or anything installed inside a web browser. It patches the standalone Spotify desktop application itself. If you're looking for something to install from a browser's extension store, you're looking for the wrong category of tool entirely — and notably, a browser extension couldn't block Spotify's desktop-app ads or background telemetry in the first place, since the desktop app doesn't run inside a browser.
Does BlockTheSpot affect Spotify Jam, Lossless audio, or lyrics?
No to all three, and this is worth stating plainly since client patches understandably make people wary of side effects on newer Spotify features:
- Spotify Jam (collaborative listening sessions) — unaffected. BlockTheSpot only touches ad, banner, and telemetry code paths, not session or playback-sharing features.
- Lossless audio — unaffected. BlockTheSpot doesn't alter audio encoding, bitrate, or streaming quality in any way; it has nothing to do with how audio is delivered.
- Lyrics — unaffected. The lyrics feature is a separate content panel entirely untouched by the patch.
If any of these ever did stop working after installing BlockTheSpot, that would point to a version-compatibility issue worth reporting — see our guide on fixing BlockTheSpot when something breaks — rather than an intended side effect.
Does BlockTheSpot work with YouTube Music or Deezer?
No — BlockTheSpot is built specifically for the Spotify desktop client's file structure, and doesn't extend to other music services. YouTube Music and Deezer have entirely different apps with different ad-serving mechanisms, and would each need their own dedicated tooling, built and verified independently. If you use those services, look for solutions built specifically for them rather than assuming a Spotify-specific patch applies.
The bottom line
BlockTheSpot and SpotX solve the same problem through different mechanisms — pick based on whether you'd rather have a one-time patch or a lighter always-on filter. Spicetify solves a different problem entirely (looks, not ads) and pairs well with BlockTheSpot rather than competing with it. And BlockTheSpot's scope is deliberately narrow: ads, banners, upgrade prompts, and telemetry on the Spotify desktop app — nothing more, nothing hidden. Ready to set it up? See the install guide for Windows, or the platform compatibility guide if you're on Mac, Linux, or mobile.